Broncos Forums - Town Hall Discussionhttp://www.broncosforums.com/forums/
enThu, 22 Feb 2018 05:16:45 GMTvBulletin1http://www.broncosforums.com/forums/images/misc/rss.pngBroncos Forums - Town Hall Discussionhttp://www.broncosforums.com/forums/
Ban FAQhttp://www.broncosforums.com/forums/showthread.php/607700-Ban-FAQ?goto=newpost
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 15:31:20 GMTThere has been a lot of confusion on the board about how the ban process works. In order to alleviate concerns and clear up confusion, I wanted to...

There has been a lot of confusion on the board about how the ban process works. In order to alleviate concerns and clear up confusion, I wanted to start this mini-FAQ about how our ban process works. This thread will be closed to responses, however if you have a question you wish to ask, start a thread about it and if it's asked often enough or clears up confusion it can be added to the FAQ.

This thread is not intended to make the process open to the public. The moderator discussions are still "behind the scenes" and discussing the details about what goes on there is still not allowed.Q. How is a ban decided?

A. After an infraction is given, depending on the severity of the infraction or the number of infractions given in a short interval, a moderator or mods will call for a vote for a ban if the infraction(s) are deemed severe enough. We discuss the user's behavior and ultimately vote for/against, if a majority of moderators want a ban, we then settle on a duration. The exception to this is an emergency ban. Any moderator can issue a temporary ban of no more than 24 hours to a user if, at the discretion of the mod, the user needs to be banned right away (normally because they are bent on destruction and not listening to a mod). After an emergency ban has been issued, a more formal ban is discussed as previously explained. Given the need for a majority vote there may be times where it takes a day or two to finally determine any given situation. Its a bit of a clumsy system, but its designed to prevent any Mod from abusing their position.

Q. Does the site owner/admin have a say in the Banning process?

A. No. This was a conscious design to allow the community to grow organically from shared interest rather than special interest. The site admin is not involved in discussions concerning bans, nor does he have a vote. The site admin no longer has regular access to the moderator section, though he obviously has the ability to log back in if the Mod team believes we need to discuss an issue with him.

Q. Why was I banned/given an infraction when another user did the same thing and wasn't?

A. Some of the rules of the forum can be subjective. And we while strive to be as consistent as possible, we aren't perfect. Sometimes this can be attributed to the fact that rarely are two posts actually "identical", some can be attributed to context (was the user warned, was there a moderator directive/signpost that was ignored etc), and some of it to the "flow of traffic" fallacy. Sometimes you are the just the one that gets the speeding ticket. Keep in mind that a lot of times bans are issued, the posts that precipitated it are removed so you may not be privy to the entire circumstance.
Q. I feel like I was unfairly banned, can I appeal?

A. Yes, appeals can be sent to the site admin (admin@broncosforums.com). The Ban, and its discussion will be reviewed by the site admin and either upheld or overturned.

Remember Guys and Gals, this isn't an easy job. Please remember to user the REPORT POST feature if you have an issue with another poster. You are unlikely to get the benefit of the doubt if you take matters into your own hands. Your behavior is your behavior and will be judged accordingly.

The posting guidelines are meant to be precisely that. We attempt to mod to the spirit of these rules while considering the greater community rather than agonizing over minutia in the language. The rules are not designed to be exploited by amateur (or even professional) internet lawyers looking to circumvent them on technicalities, and sometimes our rulings take this into consideration.